Parking meter



BEST AVAILABLE @om 93, 7 `fllllmlllllw BST AVAILABLE com Oct. l'22, 1940.

O. D. JENNINGS ET AL PARKING METER 8 Sheets-Sheet 2 W l V/-Ih;

BEST AVARLABLE com Och 22, 1940- o. D. JENNINGS Er AL 2,218,821

'PARKING ns1-En Filed Jan. 17, 1938 8 Sheets-Sheet 3 BEST AVAILABLE com Oct. 22. 1940. A ,o. D. JENNINGS Er AL l2,218,321

rmxrvnu unix *l aislante-snaai 4 med Jam. 17, 195e4 ST AVAILABLE COP\ Oct 22.' 1940- -o. D. JErJruNcssl Er ALv 2,218,821

PARKING METER rindan-@17, 19:58 a sheets-sheet s SEST AVAILABLE com Oct. 22, 1940. Q D.'JENN|NG$ Er-AL 2,218,821 I PARKINGy Munn,

Filed Jap. 1"ff, i958 y 8 Sheets-Sheet 6 Oct, 22, 1940.

BEST AVAILABLE COF o.4 D. JENNINGs ET AL 2,218,821

PARKING METER Filed Jan. 17, 1958 8 Sheets-Sheet 7 .BEST AVAILABLE COP\ Oct. 22, 1940. Q nY JENNINGS Er AL 2,218,821

PARKING METER Filed Jan. 17, 1938 8 vShee'cs--Sheet 8 Patented Oct. 22., 1940 UNITED STATE PARKING lVIETER.

de D. Jennings, Schaumburg Township, Cook County, and Sidney E. Van Tuyl and Emery Mihalek, Chicago,v Ill., assignors to 0. D. Jennings and Company, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Illinois WT AVAILABLE COPX Application January 17, 1938, Serial No. 185,345

4 Claims.

This invention relates to parking meters and has for its principal object to provide an improved parking meter which is simple in operation and economical to manufacture.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved parking meter in which the elements are arranged so as to facilitate removal and repair or replacement of parts most likely to go out of order. l

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved'parking meter inl which clockwork elements are located in several parts of the device and are connected through'gearing and.-

vided to minimize back-19,511.3

Other objects,vadvantages" and capabilities of" the invention will appear from the'followingde scription of va preferred embodiment thereof;

taken in conjunction with thel accompanying1 drawings, in which: Y f f Figure 1 is a front elevationalview of ing meter embodying our invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational viewthereof; y

' Fig. 34is a rear elevational lviewy y@ Fig. 4 is 'a fragmentary "longitudinal rsectional 'view through the upper partjof'` ter,` the section being taken' Fig.' 5 is a sectional elevation of the meter with the movable housing `memberr re` an overrunning clutch in whichmeans vare pro-v a park-r moved, the section being ftakerif'on'thelbroken` line 5-5 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary televational'viewf off the parking meter, one of the housing members being removed;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary sectional elevational view, the section being taken on thefline 1-1 of Fig. 4; v i. n w Fig. A8 is a fragmentary sectional View, the section being taken on the line 8--8 of Fig. 4;` Fig. 9`is a sectional elevational view, the sec` tion being taken on theline 9-9 of Fig. 4;

Fig. l0 is a sectional elevational view, the sec-Q Fig. l1 is a fragmentary sectional view, taken detail views showing the coin ejector in different positions of adjustment;

Fig. 18 is a sectional detail View showing the manner in which the meter is mounted, and

Fig. 19 is a perspective View of a lever. 5

Referring to the drawings, the parking meter comprises a housing 2l which is adapted to rest on'the top of a pillar 22 at a. suitable location, for example,^along .the curb where parking is permitted. The housing 2i comprises two complementary housing members 23 and 24. The housing `member 23' is'mounted directly upon o the kstandard 22. The housing member 24 is pivotally mounted on the housing member I2? at 25. Thel two-housing members are held .closed by means of a bolt 26 which may be actuated by the aid of -afkeyinserted in a lock 2l to which the bolt 26, at the upperfnd ofthe housing, is attached.

The housing member 23'terminate's at its lowceive a. nipple 29-r The nipple 29 may be secured within the socket by suitable set'screws 30 which reavailablewhenever the housing member 24 s'swungy into its open position about the lpivot 25. The 'nipple 29 mayl be secured in any-suitable waytoithe standard 22, for example, it may have by an authorize the housing.

' While the mete d person who is able to open rfhousing may taken any suitable form, that shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 is prefe'rred.'v The housing in this form comprises a gracefully curved container which provides in its lwerpart suiiicient space for the mechanism. The upper end of the'housing is made thin, as best vshown` in Fig.2,` andthe walls at thisposition are providedwith windows 32 and 33, which windows are of fan formation so as to display .the effective portion of a time disc 34 inside the housing; y

rAdjacent portions of the housing members are formed into points 35 which indicate the eiective position of the time disc atr any moment. Suitable means are provided along the meeting edges of lthe housing members for protection against the weather.

This means may suitably consist of a rubber gasket 46 which is compressed into a marginal groove around one housing member by a complementary rib on'the other housl ing member.

manually after a coin of the appropriate denomination is inserted. 'I'he handle 4i isrligidly mounted on a shaft 42. The housing member 23 is also provided with a-coin opening-43 for the insertion of a coin. .Means are provided whereby the device will not accept spurious coins. These coins are held by selector means and are returned to the operator at the outlet 44 when a button 45 is pressed. Y l

The coin opening 43 delivers a coin into a chute 41 which slopes downwardly as shown in Fig.'5. The chute comprises a gate portion 48 which may be swung inwardly by pressing the button 45. As shown in Fig. 14, this button cooperates with a spring leaf 48 on the inner side of the housing and Ithis leaf cooperates witha .pin 50 carried von the gate 48 so as to swing thegate about its pivot bar 5i. f

The/gate 48 carriesamagnet 52.for arrestingv magnetic slugs and it-may beadapted, inknown. manner, to v reject undersized and bent :coins4 The coin chute 41 terminates in anend piece 53 which. directsthe coin downwardly into a. pocket 54 ina disc -member 55vrigidly Ymounted on the. shaft 42- On'theinnerzside of the gate A48 is prof vided a chute 56 which delivers rejected-.coins tothe-'outlet 44. f i;

The pocket 54 in the disc 55 corresponds to' .alarge ,segment of the :area-,ot the disc. -its inner. edgev being indicated 'by ther dotted line 5.1on Fig. A11.

smaller Athan standard .size to roll downwardlyrg projection 63 which is adapted to be received by arecess 64 on a pivoted lever 65-exceptfr when that leveris elevated from the position shown in Fig. 1l. The lever 65, which is best shown in Fig. 19, is provided with a laterally extending projection 66l which normally extends through ra recess 61 in the marginal portion of the disc 55 across the slot 54. l When the handle 4l is actuated by turning it in the clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 1, which corresponds to the counter-clockwise di-` rectionas viewed in Fig. 11, the coin is carried with the disc into engagement with the projection 64 so that the lever 65 is raised out of the path of the projection 63. Consequently, the disc 55 may be rotated through substantially half a revolution, which rotation is ultimately arrested by the engagement of the projection 63 with the stop 6I. A portion of the periphery of the disc 55 is provided with teeth 68 which engage with the swinging pawl 68 to constitute a full stroke mechanism. A

lThe lever 65 is biased downwardly by means of fa spring10 so that it normally occupies the position shown in Fig. l1. When the lever is The disc is shown in its initiation-nerf.1v mal position in this-ligure, and a coin dropped,-

ieer liv/amare com elevated by a coin and the disc 55 is rotated, the projection 66 rides on the edge of the disc to the right of the recess 61 and when the disc returns to its initial position the projection 66 falls into the recess'61 and allows the lever 65 to resume its normal position.

The disc 55 is biased towards its normal position'by means of a spring 1 I, Fig. 5, which is secured to the boss of a disc 12 also rigidly mounted on the shaft 42; The normal position ofthe shaft 42 is determined by a pin 13 mounted on a sliding frame 14 which is supported on the frame member 62.

The sliding frame 14, which may be fabricated of sheet material, comprises slots 15 through .The frame 14 is biased towards the left, as viewed ,in Fig. 5, by a spring which is connected to one of the pins 16 and to the inwardly turned end of the .frame 14. The spring 11 is relatively weak so that it is overcome by the spring 1i acting through the disc 12. When the disc 12 is rotated in counter-clockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 5, that is, when the handle 4i is rotated in the clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. l, the spring 11 causes the frame 14 to move to the left, as viewed in Fig. 5, so as to bring a projecting ange 18 on the frame 14 into a position below the end piece 53 of the coin slot. Consequently, in'the event that two coins are inserted before the handle is turned, the second coin is held in the` coin chute until after the disc 55 returns to its initial position.

When the coin travels with the disc 55 from its initial position, the coin is held in the pocket 54 by-a stationary arcuate wall 19. When the coinvclears the lower extremity of this wall it drops from the pocket 54 into a coin chute 80 immediately below the shaft 42 which is in part constituted by the frame member 62 previously referred to. This coin chute is open to the window 48.

The disc 12 is provided with a cam formation 8| which is adapted to cooperate with a roller 82 on a bent lever 83 which is pivotally mounted on the outside of the coin chute .80. The lever 83 is biased into the position shown in Fig. 5 by a spring 84. It carries two pins 85 and 86 which extend through slots 81 and 88, respectively, into the coin chute 88. When in the normal position shown in Fig. 5, the pin 85 holds a coin in alignment with the window 48.

The cam formation 8l engages the roller 82 during the rotation of the handle 4i, with the result that the pin 85 is withdrawn from the coin chute 80 and the pin 85 is moved into coinobstructing position in the slot 81. Consequently, the coinin alignment with the window 4i) drops downwardly into an opening 89 in a box 96, which box has a window Si in alignment with the window 38 previously referred to. The box 90 serves as an enclosure for they cash box 39 previously referred to. The box 38 is provided with a slot 92 in alignment with the slot 8B. The slot 92 may be protected against surreptiticus removal of coins by means of flanges 53, chains 94, and obstructions 95, or by other suitable means.

After the lever 83 has been moved by the cam 8| into coin-obstructing position, the next coin drops down from the pocket 54 into the upper part of the slot of the coin slot Sil. When the lever 8| returns to its normal position, the lever 83 moves to its normal position and the coin thus arrested by the pin 86 is freed to drop down 75 into engagement with the pin 85. Consequently, this coin remains in that position until another coin is inserted and the handle k4| again actuated.

The disc 12 is provided with a series of radial recesses 96 which are adapted to insure the correct location of an arm 91 on the rear face of the disc 12. This arm 91 is secured to the shaft 42 by means of a nut 98. 'I'he arm 91 includes a formation 99 which is adapted to enter one of the openings 96. 'Ihe arm 91 carries an exterior abutment |00, the purpose of which will hereinafter be described. It may here be noted that the various openings 96 correspond to various periods for which the device may be set. 'I'he periods may be indicated by numbers such as 15, 30, 45, 1, 1-15, etc., corresponding to 15 minutes, 30 minutes, 45 minutes, l hour, l hour 15 minutes, etc.

The remaining mechanism of the meter is mounted on a plate which issecured to posts |02 on the inside of the housing member 23 by screws |03. On its front side, that is, the side next to the handle 4|, it carries a bracket |04 which serves as a bearing for a shaft |05 which also extends through a bearing |05 on the plate |0|. On the opposite side of the plate I0| from the bracket |04'the shaft |05 rigidly carries a Wheel |01 which is provided with a notched ange Adjacent the bracket |04 the shaft|05 freely carries a disc |09 which is provided with an extension in the form of a sector ||0. i, The disc |09 is provided with an abutment which lies in the path of the abutment' |00 on the arm 91. When` the handle 4| is rotated in the clockwise direction, as..viewed-in Fig.:1,the-disc |09 and sector I0 are.l swimgi'in .the same direction as viewed in Fig. 8, owing to the engagement ybetween the abutment |00 and the abutmentll the handle 4| is permitted to. rotate approximately 180 degrees, it is apparent that the'extent to which the sectorv |0 is rotated depends primarily upon'the position of the 91. with respect to the disc 12. i L' iwf il' ff On its inner side, that is, theside adjacent the plate |0|,A the disc |09r carries a circumferential by means'o'f springs I3 vsol that the inner pointsv of the pawls engage theteeth vof a ratchet wheel ||4 whichis rigidly 'mounted' on the shaft |05 immediately adjacent the disc |09. v

It will be noted from Figs. 8 and 9, which are views taken* in'the opposite direction, that when the handle 4| is actuated to swing the disc |09 in the clockwise direction as viewedin Fig. 8, that is, the counter-clockwise direction as viewed in` Fig. 9, the pawls ||2 slip` freely over the teeth of the ratchet wheel |14'. When, however, the disc |09 is rotated in the opposite direction, the pawls ||2 drive the ratchet wheel ||4 in the clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 9. 'The number of pawls |2 and the number of teeth on the ratchet wheel |4 are correlated so that there is no factor common to both of them. Thus, for example, we show ten pawls and 91 teeth.. The pawls are equidistantly arranged around the'ratchet wheel |54 and, consequently,` the operating surface of adjacent pawls is spaced apart by 9.1 tooth spaces. Consequently,lthe amount of back-lash is always less than T15 of a tooth. Of course, it is to be understood that any suitable number of pawls and any suitable number of teeth may be employed for this purpose.

The sector portion ||0 of the disc |09 is pro- Since f BEST AvArL/isie com 3 vided with teeth which mesh with a pinion ||5 which is integral with a hub |6 which is secured to a time disc The hub ||6 is mounted on a shaft ||8'which has a bearing in the upper part of the plate |0`|. 'I'he shaft ||8 extends through the bearing to the opposite side of the plate |0I, that is, the side remote from the handle 4|. The rearward end of the shaft I8 has anchored thereto a coil spring I9, o ne end of which is anchored to a pin |20 on the plate |0|. The shaft I8 may carry a disc |2| at its rear extremity to prevent displacement of the spring H9.

The plate |0| has adjustably mounted thereon a bracket |22 which serves as a stop for the sector disc |09. This abutment is 'located at a position so that it may become effective when the handle 4| sets the time disc. The plate |0| may be provided with a series of pairs of openings |23 corresponding to 15, 30, 45, and 60 minutes, etc., the bracket |22 beingmountable at any of these pairs of openings by means of screws |24. When the sector disc |09 is rotated in the clockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 8, until it comes into contact with the bracket |22, the time disc ||1 is rotated in the counter-clockwise direction until the numerals 30 on the White portion of the disc are moved up into alignment with the pointers 35 to indicate that the operator may park for 30 minutes.' f

It may here be noted that part of the disc ||1 is painted red, corresponding to the shaded area, and when this part of the disc is in register with the pointers 35 itis shown that the person whose car is located in front of the parking meter has over-stayed his period.l The degree of over-parking is indicated by'the numerals on the red part of the disc. When the disc sector |09 is rotated in the clockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 8, and the disc I1 is rotated in the manner stated, the spring ||9 is wound up and tends to reverse the direction of the disc ||1 and to drive the sector disc |09 in the` counter-clockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 8.

Immediate reversal of these elements is prevented by means of aclock escapementy unit |25 which is mounted on the rear side of the plate |0 as shown irr Fig. 4. 'Ihis escapement unit is located within the housing which is securedto the plate |0| by means of screws |26 and includes a wheel |21 which is in alignment with the shafts 42 andl |05 when. the meter is assembled. The wheel |21 carries projectionsl |28 which are adapted tolbe received by notches in the flange |08 of the wheel |01.` g

[The handle 4| is provided with a semi-circular extension. |29 which is normally located in the position shown in Fig. l. The portion of the housing below this normal position of the extension |29 is of a contrasting color with respect to the color of the rest of the meter. Thus, it may be red and the meter housing and the extension |29 may be green.

We may provide a counter mechanism |3| which may be mounted on the plate |0|. This counter may be of any suitable type and it may be actuated by an arm |32 which is connected by a link |33 to a bell crank lever |34 pivotally mounted on a post |30. The lever |32 is mounted in one position by means of a spring |35 and it may be actuated in the opposite direction each time that the meter is operated by the engagement of the cam 8| with the end of the bell crank lever |34.

In order to prevent the entrance of dust into the housing in the escapement mechanism |25, We provide the cover of this housing with an an- H09 hits the post |30.

nular :mouth |36 which extends ralrnostto the plate |0|. We provide a felt gasket |31 around the mouth |36, this gasket being of such size that it is compressed when the escapement housing is mounted in position on the plate' IDI.

The operation is as follows: The meter being set for 30 minutes in the manner previously described, the escapement will operate under the iniiuence of the spring ||9 until the sectordisc This will leave the disc in theposition shown in Fig. 8. 4| is in the position shown in Fig. 1. The person Wishingto park inserts the appropriate coin in the slot 43 and if the same is accepted, the handle 4| may be rotated in the clockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 1.

Displacement of the handle 4| discloses the red vportion of the housing `normally below the extension |29. When the handle 4I is rotated toits full extent, the teeth 68 on the disc 55 are moved past thepawl 69 and the disc 55 may return to its initial position when the handle 4| is released. If, however, the handle 4| is not rotated to its fullest extent, the handle is not permitted to return and the exposed red portion of i tatingthe handle 4| to its fullest extent. The

rotation of the handle 4| causes partial rotation of the sector disc |09 and the movement of the time disc to a position indicating 30 minutes of parking time available. During this move- 1 ment the pawls |I2 slip over the teeth of the pointers 35.

ratchet H4 and when the movement is terminated one of the pawls ||2 engages one of the` starts to rotate the disc ||1 towards its initial position shown in Fig. 8, this direction being in the counterclockwise direction as viewed in that figure; It takes 30 minutes for the meter to attain zero position, that is, for the zero position on the disc to arrive in alignment with the After this position is attained, the disc |I'l continues to rotate, indicating on the red part of the dial the over-parking period.

The improved parking meter is not only simple in construction, but is very easy to maintain in operation. Thus, the escapement mechanism may be removed and replaced by merely removing and replacing the four screwsk |25. Furthermore, a great amount of the mechanism is mounted on the plate ISI and may be removed and replaced by simply removing four screws |03. The cash box 39 may be removed and replaced without gpening the complete meter by any person having the appropriate keys. It maybe noted that the counter |3| may be located so that it may be read when the door 36 is removed.

Although the invention hasbeen described in connection with the specific details of a preferred embodiment thereof, it must be understood that such details are not 'intended to be limitative of the invention except in so far as set forth in the accompanying claims.

`Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a parking meter, in combination, an elongated narrow housing comprising a major The handle 2,218,821 SESTAVAILABLE cosi closure, a manually operated member yori-said housing, an arm carried by said member on the interior of the housing.. a .plate removably vmounted on said housing, a timing disk and a tension -spring :mounted on :said plate, a sector disk mounted `on saidplateifor limited pivotal movement, gear elements Voperatively connecting said sectory disk and said timing disk, .abutment meansonsaid arm and said sector disk adapted to cooperate .wherebythe timing disk is rotated and the :springiftensioned 'when the manually Gperate'dP'memberv is actuated, saidarmsbeing adjustably mounted at desired positions on 4said member :to control ,i the :degree '.'towhich' Vsaid spring isitensioned, a timingrescapernentV mechanism 4removably -mounted `on said `plate, and overrunningclutch and separable clutch elements connecting rs'aid sector disk to said .c escapement mechanism. 1; `v e :2. Inaparking metenin combination, an elongated narrowfhousing comprising a major closure, aimanually operated'member on said housing, anarm carried-:by said member on the inonfsaidlhousing, .ra-timing disk and a tension rspringmounted'orifsaid plate, .az sector disk mounted. on .said plate Jfonlimited pivotal. movement; gear I:elements s operatively connecting .said sector disk and said timing disk, abutment means on saidf arm. and .said-,sector 'disk adapted vto cooperatewhereby` the timing disk rotated and the spring tensionedzwhen the manually operated memberactuated, fsaid arm if beings adj ustably mounted at `rdesired positionszonsaid memberto control ,thefjdegree to which' said spring is tensioned, a .timing escapment mechanism removably imountedzizon said platee-:ax multiplicity of pawls :on' f said sectory disk, a :ratchet` Wheel cooperating therewith;y said pawls being equidistantly `spacedarcundAthe eratchet wheel, the numberiof said :pawls :and the number of teeth on ,the;ratchet-having nolcommon factor, and separable :clutch .'elementsconnecting said sector disk to said escapement mechanism.

3. ;`In.a `parking ":meter, '.incombination, a manually operable member, coin actuated means for releasing said member for actuation,.full strokefmechanism cooperating with said member, means for returning said member to initial position at the end of a stroke,^and a flag carried by said member onthe exterior of said housing, the portion of said housing normally obscured by said agbeing of a contrasting color to indicate incomplete operation of said member.

l4. In a parking meter, in combination, a manually operable member, coin actuated means for releasing said member for actuation, full-stroke mechanism cooperating with said member, means for returning said member to initial position at the end of a stroke, clock mechanism including a time indicating disk, and an arm rigidly connected to said member adapted tocooperate with said clock mechanism whereby a full-stroke of the membermoves the time indicating disk to a desired extent, said arm being adjustable on said member whereby the displacement of said disk on actuation of said member may be regulated at will.

f ODE D. JENN'INGS.

SIDNEY E. VAN TUYL. EMERY MIHALEK. 

